65 Michel Pimbert
Photo: CENESTA
44
Pastoralists Rethinking Research project, Iran.
‘participation’ in this article can be
summarised as:
… allowing each potential citizen-subject
within society to become real subjects, by
offering them ... a genuine autonomy to
exercise their ability to give themselves laws
and construct rules with others... More
specifically, this implies giving to individuals the means to participate ... in the daily
construction of the rules of living together,
and to rethink political, social and
economic relationships in order to civilise
them at a deep level, through the permanent
exercise of the freedom to participate (Méda
2000, author’s translation).
Towards power-equalising research
Power-equalising research involves both
researchers and non-researchers in close
cooperative engagement, jointly producing
new knowledge, with mutual learning from
the process. As such, this form of cooperative enquiry is a significant reversal from
dominant roles, locations and ways of
knowing.
These reflections are based on ongoing
participatory action-research with indigenous and local communities in the Andean
Altiplano (Bolivia and Peru), Asia (India,
Indonesia, Nepal and Iran), Europe
(France, Italy, UK) and West Africa (Mali)
where research is done with, for and by
3
See Pimbert (2012); CNOP et al. (2007); and Pimbert (2011).
4 See Denzin et al. (2008).
people – rather than on people – to explore
how locally controlled biodiversity-rich
food systems can be sustained.3 In these
different settings, it is noteworthy that citizens engaged in co-enquiry are viewed as
knowledgeable and active actors with the
ability to be centrally involved in both the
‘upstream’ choice of strategic research
priorities and the design of innovations, as
well as in their ‘downstream’ implementation, spread and regulation. Viewing
citizens as knowledgeable actors is, in and
by itself, an important safeguard in
promoting community rights over their
biocultural heritage. Empathy, respect and
solidarity with fellow human beings are
important prerequisites here. Without
these enabling values, enduring prejudiced
views will continue to undermine the possibility of seeing ordinary citizens as
knowledgeable actors (Box 1).
Co-defining ways of working and research
ethics
Power-equalising research often grows out
of a participatory process in which local
community members define or co-define
with outside researchers the rules of
engagement and ways of working. Ensuring this kind of ethical research is essential.
Too often, research programmes are
imposed on rural people, adding to their
already overwhelming burdens, causing
harm and violating rights.4 It is vital to
ensure first that non-researcher citizens
have an opportunity to assess, on their own
terms and in their own time, the desirability and relevance of engaging in cooperative
research activities. The validity and quality
of the research are usually enhanced when
non-researchers are allowed to co-define
the rules of engagement and codes of
research ethics. Open ended dialogues and
village-level discussions with dalit women
farmers in Andhra Pradesh (India) allowed
participants to decide on the code of
research ethics they should adopt and on